Comedy Reviews
Best of 2020: ComedyWednesday, 30 December 2020
What a year that was. Live performance was stopped dead in its tracks for most of 2020, and comedy – as viscerally live as you can get in dark and sweaty enclosed spaces above pubs or in club basements – was particularly hard hit. Never again, I suspect, will comedy fans complain about the privations of broom-cupboard venues at the Edinburgh Fringe. Read more... |
Comedy podcasts round-up 1: from home and abroadMonday, 07 December 2020
Podcasts have got many of us through 2020, starved as we have been for most of it of live comedy to leave the house to see. Here's a selection of some of the best; they are available on all podcast platforms unless stated. Dear Joan & Jericha Read more... |
Natalie Palamides: Nate: A One Man Show, Netflix review - deep dive into toxic masculinity still has powerThursday, 03 December 2020
Edgy comedy runs the risk of discomfiting the audience so much that they can't relax and enjoy the show. But Natalie Palamides, appearing as Nate, her alter ego, in Nate: A One Man Show on Netflix, pulls it off, and then some. Read more... |
Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine, Netflix review - star-studded special for Trump lip-syncerTuesday, 17 November 2020
When the world was in lockdown and performers turned to TikTok to keep in touch with their fans, Sarah Cooper started using the online platform for short videos where she lip-synced Donald Trump's speeches, and they quickly went global. Not many people can say they owe worldwide fame to Covid and America's worst-ever president. Read more... |
Dear Joan & Jericha review - glorious wrong advice from spoof agony auntsWednesday, 04 November 2020
The Dear Joan & Jericha podcast began in 2018, and quickly became a cult hit. Read more... |
Adam Kay, Apollo Theatre review - former medic tells tales from NHS front lineFriday, 23 October 2020
What a pleasure it was to step inside a West End theatre again, and what a different experience it was – temperature checks at the door, a one-way system through to the seats and an app to order drinks. Read more... |
Live From the Grand Hall, BAC review - strong mixed bill to start autumn seasonMonday, 19 October 2020
After a successful – and very welcome - summer season of gigs in its outdoor courtyard, Battersea Arts Centre has come indoors for its autumn season of comedy from the Grand Hall; it started with this strong mixed bill curated by the promoters Berk's Nest. Read more... |
Picnic at the Castle review - entertaining mixed billSaturday, 19 September 2020
Of all the outdoor spaces being utilised to keep live performance going in this maddest of years, Warwick Castle is surely among the most striking. Its Picnic at the Castle series has the building as an imposing backdrop to events, the stage reached by a wooden bridge across the River Avon. Read more... |
Mixed bill, 21Soho review - opening of new club is cause for celebrationMonday, 31 August 2020
Comedy is all about timing, and the owners of the UK's newest comedy club should know. Just days after they obtained the final licences they needed to open, the national lockdown was announced in March. Read more... |
The Warren Outdoor Season, Brighton review - creatives take to the beachTuesday, 18 August 2020
The Warren is normally to be found in Brighton city centre, where it stages shows during the Brighton Fringe. Read more... |
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